Extra doctors and nursing staff have been rostered on duty at Moree District Hospital after the closure of the Balo Street Medical Centre last week.
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The medical centre was shut indefinitely and all appointments were cancelled as of Thursday, due to circumstances beyond the control of owner, Dr Les Woollard.
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has been in consultation with Moree hospital management about adding two extra doctors and additional nurses to cope with demand as a result of the unexpected closure last week. The practice's services have been suspended indefinitely.
"Hospital management have responded incredibly quickly," Mr Marshall said.
"They've made provisions for a couple of extra doctors to work out of the hospital, with the assistance of extra nursing staff to support an increase in presentations to the hospital.
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"At least 100 people were booked into Balo Street Medical Centre [on Monday].
"These are measures put in place by the hospital to make sure people who need health treatment quickly can get that treatment, get scripts filled, etc.
"However, that is not sustainable into the longer term. Obviously we can't do it forever because it comes at an extreme cost, but this is about making sure people aren't left high and dry."
Mr Marshall wants to reassure the community that the closure of the medical centre doesn't necessarily mean Moree will be losing doctors.
"I have received no indication that any of the doctors will be leaving Moree," he said.
"Hopefully the issues that have led to the closure can be resolved either by the reopening of the practice, or the opening of a new practice, or for the registrars to join one of the other practices in town."
Dr Woollard's daughter, Dr Nicola Doogan, said the family were heartbroken after serving the Moree community for four decades.
"We are deeply sorry and distressed at the abrupt nature of this and the inconvenience it will cause the community after 40 years of service," she said.
What should patients do?
Patients who wish to access a copy of their medical record for ongoing care are encouraged to make a request in writing, either by themselves or their new General Practice with the patient's consent and signature.
Requests need to include an address for the record to be forwarded to. Requests can be sent to PO BOX 690, Moree NSW 2400 or emailed to balostreetqueries@gmail.com.
Patients who are waiting for clinically significant test results, including blood tests and imaging, are asked to email balostreetqueries@gmail.com with the subject line 'Clinically significant test results', and include a name and date of birth in the email.
"All incoming results will be monitored for urgent issues and these patients will be contacted, but we will not be able to provide any follow-up at Balo Street," Dr Doogan said.
"You are also able to request all pathology, imaging, specialist letters, etc, directly from the provider, and again, your new practice can assist with this.
"Once again, we are deeply saddened at what has transpired over the past week and will be doing everything we possibly can to ensure you have clear and timely access to your medical records. We will update you as we are able, and thank you for understanding that this is due to circumstances beyond our control."
